In the last blog post, I shared with you my morning routine and the benefits of waking up at 5 am. It is important to mention that waking up so early wouldn’t be possible if I didn’t get a good night sleep. That’s why today’s post is all about creating healthy evening habits and night routine for better sleep.
What are a night routine and sleep hygiene?
Creating healthy sleeping habits is nothing less important than morning routines. Yet there is much more information about starting your day right than about finishing it well. The term “sleep hygiene” refers to our sleep habits, it can be referred to as healthy or poor. I really enjoy the word hygiene in this context, as we often forget that taking care of the way we rest is something so basic as maintaining hygiene.
Importance of evening rituals for success
You can drastically improve your sleep quality by introducing a night routine and once your mind and body are well rested, you are ready to conquer the World. I wrote recently how I wake up every day at 5 am, yet if I don’t follow my night routine the evening before, the chances to wake up so early are decreasing at the speed of light. Not getting enough quality sleep leaves you unproductive and unhappy! But don’t worry, I have prepared here simple activities to follow to create healthy habits that will guarantee you early morning success.
My night routine
First of all, I want you to know that it is been recent that I changed my day introducing morning and night routine. Being an entrepreneur, I was feeling stress and underproductive (no matter how much time and work I did) as my “to-do” list was never-ending. And I was tired… So, I started to look for ways in which I could improve my style of work. That is how I started introducing and testing morning and night routines. I have already covered what I do first thing in the morning when I wake up, now let’s talk about my night routine.
I used to be a night owl, I preferred working late at night than early in the morning because basically I never felt motivated enough to wake up early. Recently I have been really exhausted working on multiple projects at once and went to sleep around 9.30-10 pm. Gosh, I never wanted to admit this, I mean I am not 80 years old… but then something amazing happened – I woke up at 5.30 am and felt rested like never before. I got 7,5-8h sleep which is a great amount, but let’s be honest, I was sometimes sleeping 9 hours and not feeling so energized. My mum used to tell me “the sleep you get before midnight is much more valuable” but I kind of ignored that, I mean life starts after 10 pm especially in Spain…
But after the first night when I went to sleep at 10 pm and woke up at 5.30 am energized, the next day I was sleepy again around 10 pm (I woke up at 5.30) and instead of forcing myself to stay awake and getting things done, I decided to go to sleep early. And that started a cycle! The best part is that I sleep the same amount of time as if I would go to sleep at midnight and wake up at 7.30, yet I feel much more energized. The possible reason behind that is that your nervous system and body cells get repaired much faster before midnight (but this theory hasn’t been fully confirmed) or simply that you don’t push yourself past the point of sleepiness. When you do this it is a lot harder to fall asleep and you usually get less sleep through the night.
Step one: Adjust the lighting and volume
The moment you decide it is time to sleep, start lowering the light. Especially try to avoid screens before bedtime as the blue light that they emit kills melatonin – the hormone responsible for regulating sleep cycles.
Step two: Drink bedtime tea
I love to drink a special bedtime infusion before going to sleep. The so-called “bedtime tea” is caffeine-free, an herbal infusion that helps you release stress and alleviate indigestion so that your body is ready to relax. Sleepy tea usually contains camomille, lavender, lemon, and spearmint. There is a calming aspect to sipping a warm liquid in your favorite mug before nodding off.
Step three: Open the window to get some fresh air in the bedroom
According to Daily Mail: “Circulating air can stop carbon dioxide build-up leading to a better night’s rest.” Temperature around 18C or 65F also facilitates sleep.
Step four: Go to the bathroom to do your night beauty routine
I already mentioned how much I love my morning beauty routine and bedtime is another great moment for skincare. Before bed, I usually use regenerating cosmetics.
Step five: Spray Lavender oil over your bed linen
This is my favorite step of all. Spraying lavender oil over my bed linen gives this little touch of luxury to my standard day.
Step six: Turn on nature sounds and turn off the light
The last step I take is to turn off the light and set up Relaxation Meditation app. Listening to nature sounds has this calming effect on me and makes me feel like I’ve been transported somewhere to Amazon jungle. I like to listen to rain sounds and crickets but there are 100s of sounds to choose from plus a timer – the app will automatically turn off after the set time (in my case 10 minutes).
Must have bedtime essentials for better sleep:
A comfortable mattress
If there is one thing you should not save money on, it would be a comfortable mattress! We spend half of our life sleeping and a mattress that helps you rest well is an important overall health factor. You should change your mattress every 7-10 years and rotate it every 3-6 months. I especially recommend memory foam mattresses as they adjust to your body no matter how much you move during the night. Check this memory foam mattress from Perfect Cloud.
Lavender oil
Lavender not only helps increase slow-wave sleep, slowing heartbeat and relaxing muscles but it also adds a luxury touch to your bedroom.
Memory foam pillow
Memory foam pillows are specially designed to relieve pressure points on your neck and help proper spine alignment. I especially recommend this one that has an additional scent of lavender.
Breathable bed linen
Breathable fabric helps to dissipate and reduce excess body heat accumulated throughout the night.
Phillips wake-up Lamp
My whole life was full of brutal wake-up – with light that cuts my eyes like a laser or annoying sound of an alarm clock! No surprise, I was waking up tired and unhappy! Everything changed when I got Phillips Wake-up Lamp with a natural light sunrise alarm which improves your ability to function in the morning. It also has a bird calls sounds set up as an alarm. Waking up couldn’t be more pleasant.
Relaxation Meditation app
I use the Relaxation Meditation app free version just before bed to listen to nature sounds.
Bedtime tea
This caffeine-free, herbal infusion that helps you release stress and alleviate indigestion so that your body is ready to relax.
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